You know, when people ask me about my business and the name of it, I
always get a second look.
Typical convo:
Unsuspecting Victim: You own a boutique? That’s pretty cool
Me: Yes it is, I LOVE it
Unsupsecting Victim: Whats the name of it?
Me: *smile* Intoxicating Vixen…
Unsupecting Victim: *clutches pearls* ohhhh, ummmm…what kind of
boutique is it with a name like that?
Growing up I was a tom boy. My mom was a tom boy, so she didn’t really
know how to do girly things with me. I grew up watching GI Joe, Power
Rangers, He-man, all the boy cartoons, because that’s what my mother
watched with me.
My mom was also very poor. I can remember being dragged with her to
the welfare office often and waiting there for hours. The clothes
she would get me were just horrible. In my moms defense, clothes and
girly stuff were not her specialty, and that’s okay….thats when my
grandmother took over. Lol Her favorite store used to be Lord &
Taylor, she would take me there and spend so much money I really
thought that I was a princess when I was with her.
She let me know early on, that one day I would become a woman, I was only given one body, I should always treat it with care and respect, dont abuse it and never allow anyone else to abuse it, be careful what I put into it and who I have around it, and lastly, whenever I step out, whatever I have on should make a statement.
As a little girl I used to go with her to meetings and events, and in predictable Libra fashion, she was always dressed to kill and had the type of charm that would knock you off your feet.
Lol I have a story about the following picture. Now I know that Baby Phat is not exactly hot anymore, but this picture was taken 2004ish when everyone was wearing it, my grandmother wasn’t a name brand junkie so she was unaware. She calls me up for one of our many chats and tells me “Shimi, ever since I was around your age, I wanted a fire engine red leather jacket! And now that I’m 79 I got it! I’m going to wear it to my birthday dinner!”
And as you can see, she stepped out in that jacket and you could not tell her that she wasn’t a diva on that day (or any other day for that matter). A few years later, she grew tired of that jacket, and gave it to me, she said “I’m reaching middle age territory now, so you can have it” lol
Anyways, when I made my mind up to open my own boutique, I couldn’t think of a name. I knew the type of clothes that I wanted to carry, I knew the mission statement, and the only thing missing was the name. I pitched “Intoxicating Vixen” and “Venomous Vixen” to my work wife, as many of you know, the wife usually has the final say, she told me “Intoxicating Vixen”. So I had to run it by one more person to make it official.
So a little over a year ago, during our many evenings together, I tell my grandmother that I finally have a name for the boutique “Intoxicating Vixen”…she gives me a look and a smile, ha any time she gave me that look and that smile things could go incredibly great or drastically bad. In true grandmother fashion, she quizzed me, I really remember the convo like it was yesterday…
Ganny: Hmmm sounds kind of risqué, why’d you choose a name like that?
Me: *crazy nervous look on my face* well ganny, ummmm…ahhhhh….
Ganny: With all this umming and ahhing you’re doing, by the time you finish, our dinner will be cold, get to it
Me: Well…I chose the name because now that I’m getting older, being a mom myself, working, and just dealing with life itself, I sometimes forget about that magic that I possess, and I also see a lot of other women forgetting about the magic the posses. Take your daughter (my mom) for example, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen her look and feel amazing….
Ganny: mmmhmmm…but your ganny, honey, even in my 80’s I haven’t forgot about my magic, you see these legs?!?!? (lol she really did have amazing legs, better than most 20 years olds)
Me: ANYWAYS Ganny, I want to name the boutique Intoxicating Vixen, because I believe every woman has the fire inside of them, everyone is a Vixen to some extent and every woman is naturally Intoxicating, you just have to bring it out of them. Given that the boutique is only going to sell exclusive items that people probably won’t see on another person in their area, it’ll add a “WOW” factor.
Ganny: At first I was a little iffy about the name, but hearing your reasoning has sold me. I love it. I know you like to vamp it up, so it fits. Just own it, when people ask you about the name, you have to say it proudly, no doubts. And believe me, people will ask about the name….
She winked at me and we ate our dinner together, and then went for a walk so she could show off her legs J
I miss her.
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